Monday, June 30, 2008

I saw this on The Original Winger, and thought you'd enjoy it, Matt. Jay-Z headlined the Glastonbury Festival this past weekend and got a little retaliation against Noel Gallagher (of Oasis), who had stated that rappers shouldn't be allowed to headline the festival. What did he do? He covered Wonderwall. Ha. Well done, sir Z.

I also stole this little nugget from the same site. Enjoy (for scientific and medical reasons...).

Thursday, June 12, 2008

I need to thank The Offside Rules for posting this Mixtape of Kenny Cooper's goals. Not only is it a fantastic compilation of footage of Cooper, but it is also set to an excellent song (as opposed to the usual crap that people put behind the mixtapes they make).

My question is, why on earth are we not giving this kid a chance on the big stage? We have a real lack of quality at this position, and with Dempsey reportedly burnt out from Fulham's relegation battle (and seemingly in need of some rest) and Jozy's injury, we need some help. Wolff has been terrible, Johnson has shown some improvement but that improvement hasn't brought a single goal. Ching could be the man to bring the finishing that we need, but why not let Cooper have a chance to show us what he's got? Everything else aside, consistently playing Wolff over Cooper seems like such an incredibly stupid move to me. It makes no sense. I would love to see Cooper up top with Donovan running the right side and Beasley on the left. Get Adu in that attacking mid role with Mastroeni behind him, and let's see what these guys can do. When Dempsey gets some rest, then let's get him up top with Cooper and see what these guys can do.

Here we go on the next installment of this little story. For some reason I feel like I should clarify what is going on here; I don't know. I'm not bothering to plan too far into the future with this story. The purpose is to get into the habit of writing close to everyday, even if it is just a little bit. So, I apologize if anyone starts to read this story and then gets disappointed by its "little snippet" format, or that it isn't more cohesive, but cohesiveness isn't the point. My guess is that we'll have a little bit of the Water World effect, where the story starts without an ending and that ending has the potential of being a little disappointing. Oh well. :)

Also, formatting is a problem here on Blogger. It auto corrects "errors" (which are actually what I like to call "indentations") so the dialogue won't necessarily be the standard format you encounter in books. I'm sure you'll get it though.

“What am I looking at here, Harmes?” Captain Burnsworth's eyes never shifted to his navigator as he asked this question. Everyone on board Burnsworth’s ship, the Lucidia, was staring forward at the planet Quirath: their destination.“To be honest sir, I’m not sure,” Harmes slowly replied. “The planet seems to be encased in some sort of energy field. I’ve never seen anything like this before, Captain. The sensors are going off the charts.”The Captain leaned forward in his chair slightly and studied the faint blue hue surrounding Quirath. The comparatively small planet was completely surrounded by this field of energy. He was familiar with energy shields; all ships used them for deep space travel. But this field was large enough to engulf a planet. How could this even be possible? What could possibly be powerful enough to produce that large of a field? More importantly, would it even be safe to attempt to pass through it? Was it radioactive? He began to wonder whether or not their trip would be cut short.“Get me connected to the Quirathean port authority, and let’s get some answers.” Vindler, the communications expert on board the Lucidia, busied himself with his equipment, but it soon became apparent that there would be no communicating with the planet.“Sir,” Vindler responded, “I can’t get through. We’re getting some massive interference with the signal, almost total communication breakdown.”The Captain sat silently, thinking of how imperative it was that they get onto that planet to sell those crystals. He had accrued massive gambling debts recently and was running out of time to pay it back, and if Morgan “Titus” Andronicus, could be counted on for anything, it was his punctuality in recovering debts. As strong and fast a ship as the Lucidia was, there was nowhere that it could hide from Titus. He needed to get down to that planet, but would it be worth risking death in the process?“Thorpe,” Captain Burnsworth yelled, deciding that as risky as passing through that energy field would be, death was certain if he didn't get Titus that money.“Yes, sir!”“Prepare one of the recon droids for deployment. We need to get an idea of how safely we can pass through that field. Vindler,”“Yes sir.”“You’re my eyes and ears. Bring that droid up on screen one. We’ve got a few minutes to learn as much as we can about that field before we attempt a pass of our own.”

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

I decided that I want to flex my writing muscles with short exercises. Some of those exercises will be in the form of random and unrelated stories or descriptions. Other times they will be small parts of a bigger (and most likely developing) story. Today's will most likely be one of those longer developing stories. Let me know what you think.

Captain James Burnsworth sat alone in his quarters, pondering over the recent events that had enticed him to turn his ship toward the Alpha-Centauri Quadrant. Intercepting the small freighter had started as nothing more than a routine boarding--until thirteen crates of Quirathine crystals were discovered in the freighter’s secret cargo holds. Captain Burnsworth understood how important these crystals were to Quirath, or perhaps more specifically to the prevailing religion on the planet, and the thought filled him with great hope; he had some serious debts to pay. He almost shuddered remembering how cruel the Quirathean religious leaders could be—he’d seen the punishments they had meted out on that Quirathean child’s neck and back—but that kind of fanaticism also spoke well of how much they would pay in ransom to get those crystals back. He looked down into the small clear crystal in his hand; mesmerized momentarily by the soft blue streaks that occasionally glittered back at him. Turning the crystal slowly, he smiled, thinking of the good fortune that had suddenly befallen him and his crew.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

I've started this blog because I wanted a place to put my poems. I'd been e-mailing them to people (quite against their will I'm sure), and felt like it would be better to have a central place where those who were interested could come and read them on their own. This was both a great idea and a terrible one: great because I wasn't bugging people as much, terrible because no one came to read (to be fair I have picked up and lost readers over the years, so at any given moment there were maybe two people I knew who checked the blog). A time went on, my interests have evolved somewhat, and I have begun to incorporate many new elements into this blog. At times it feels successful, while at other times it doesn't. Thus, I have decided to try something new; I am going to ask for my two readers to respond and give me their feedback on what they do and don't like.

I will ask you to rate the topics by how much you enjoy reading them. The scale we will use is 1-5 with 5 meaning you love the posts that relate to that topic and 1 meaning that you don't even bother to read them.

The five main topics are (and I am excluding the random ones that just spring up on occasion):

1. Poems/poetry2. Soccer3. Movies4. Books5. Music

So, in the comments section, feel free to rank them on that 1-5 scale and we'll see if we can't get a better feel for where this blog should be headed. Thank you.

I'm interested in the phenomenon that is the recurring dream. I have heard a few other peoples' recurring dreams before and, while I have never found another one quite like my own, I am fascinated by the idea that our mind would replay a certain scenario over and over to us in our sleep.

Here, for your reading pleasure, is the tale of my own recurring dream that I had repeatedly as a child. I haven't had it since I was about 7 or 8, but I certainly had it enough to remember it vividly.

In my dream, my mom would put me on the timeout chair in the kitchen (what I had done to deserve such a punishment was never made clear) and then leave. I'd be sitting there alone in the kitchen when all of a sudden the pantry door would open up. Instead of being the shelves of food that were normally found inside, it would be an old stone passage that spiraled downward. It was dark and had cobwebs and was incredibly reminiscent of 50's horror film. I'd go over and start heading down the stairs, but never get more than two or three steps before I'd hear someone coming up. I'd run back up into the kitchen, turn around, and then all of the old 50's horror flick monsters would come out of the pantry: Frankenstein, Dracula, the wolfman, mummies... you name it and they were there. I'd be freaked out of my mind, and then the Monster Mash song would start playing and we'd all have a Monster Mash dance party in the kitchen. Very strange.

Friday, June 06, 2008

I do believe that this is the last poem that I shall be posting from my class. I had another one that was a sonnet and it turned out terribly. So I shan't be offending your ears with it, but I do want to say just how much I have enjoyed this little run of poetry--4. Yes, that is right. We've reached level 4 in the enjoyment spectrum (which beats level 3--winning an art contest--but doesn't quite reach level 5--beating a child in an art contest; man their drawings suck).

Drifting

A little fluff of feather floats byand I wonder if it cares where it’s going.Back and forth,up and down;wherever the wind blows it.Do feathers make plansto get some shopping done,drop the kids off at soccer practice,budget?Does it notice how close it gets to landingOnly to be lifted up and carried offBy the next gust of wind?Does a feather get angry that it can’t chase its dreams?Does it even have dreams?

I watched a little fluff of feather go byendlessly drifting.

Oh dear me. What a delightful little poem. It sure makes you think about it. It sure makes you think. And now two haikus to finish us off:

Tiny needlesscrape soft petals.My wife says to shave.

A lone desert bush.Moisture falls in single stream—child frees his bladder.

Monday, June 02, 2008

We are over halfway done with the poems from my class. What will we do when we reach the end? I don't know, but if it is anything like that ocean life documentary I watched last night (called Deep Blue), then killer whales will come separate a baby gray whale from its mother and then kill and eat it. So, we better hope that these don't end.

Parting

My memories of melodiesare fading from my mind,and notes I used to know no longerharmonize with mine.Maybe I should take a rest—Or pretend that it’s all fine—but I can’t stand the silenceso I try to finda way to reconnect,to use my eyes.I’m groping in the darkness,and seeking out the blind.Tired beats for rhythms—awkward words I can’t make rhyme.The part of me that is musicgrows fainter with time.